Prince Philip Pavilion in Zaragoza

IN SHORT

The city of Zaragoza is a central point for cultural, economic, artistic and sports. Its privileged location, just 300 kilometers from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao, has made it become an important logistics and communications center. In recent years, particularly during the International Exposition in Zaragoza in 2008, the city has expanded and modernized its infrastructures. Even today this renewal continues, as it is the case with the Prince Philip Pavilion which recently installed a new generation flooring.

The city of Zaragoza has a thousand faces, as many as the cultures and civilizations that have passed through it and left their mark: ruins and monuments that make up a rich architectural heritage. For example, in the sixteenth century, the urban landscape of the city had so many Mudejar towers, Zaragoza was known as the city "of a hundred towers", or the "Spanish Florence."

Its legacy is so varied that one can speak of a Roman Zaragoza, a medieval and Moorish Zaragoza, a Renaissance or Baroque, also neoclassical, modern and contemporary.

One can also speak of a water Zaragoza. Not only for its location, on the banks of the rivers Ebro, Huerva and Gallego, but for the revitalization of its banks from 2008, for the International Exhibition in Zaragoza, dedicated to water and sustainable development.

This year, the city underwent important construction work that not only united both sides of the river Ebro, but gave life to its shores. Just to name of few of the things that were done, there was the Pavilion Bridge which connects the campus with Almozara neighborhood. This work was conducted by the renowned Iraqi architect, Zaha Hadid. Also, done by the engineer Javier Manterola, the Gateway of Volunteering, with a 277-meter length that joins the two banks without any support on the river. And finally the Third Bridge Millennium that connects the Ebro’s right bank to the Expo.

Prince Philip Pavilion

These actions have helped to raise awareness for Zaragoza over the river and subsequently led to the promotion of sustainable water sports. This show that the city of a thousand faces is also the city of sports. This has been demonstrated with the construction of the Prince Philip Pavilion in 1990. This facility is considered the true sport 'star' of Zaragoza, and it’s one of the most important European pavilions.
In this pavilion there have been sports events at national, European and international levels, as important as the European Cup Finals in basketball, the Final Four in basketball, the Handball Cup and the King's Cup in football.
The hall, built on a 27,300 m2 area and offering a capacity of 11,000 spectators, further improved the quality of its installations in September 2011 with the acquisition of a new sport flooring that will be used in the London Olympics

The surface chosen is the Fast Break System 2 Wood, a result of research, development and innovation of Mondo Iberica, in collaboration with the Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia (IBV), expert in this field.

This court replaces the previous one, contracted at the time by the city council of Zaragoza to Mondo Iberica, who has given the new surface to the city’s elite teams so they can enjoy a removable floor of the highest level.

In fact, on the new court they hold practices and games for the Endesa League of Basketball CAI Zaragoza, and the Handball Box3 Aragon of the Asobal league, averaging an 8-hour use.

Panel of Experts

As explained by the CEO of Mondo Ibérica, Santiago Palomera, at the opening of the court, European standards and international federations were taken into account to develop this new surface. We also "created a panel of experts that included coaches, players and maintenance people, among others, to define the best parameters in the sporting aspect. "

One of the main qualities of the new flooring, according to Palomera, is its "total uniformity" in the joints of each tile or plates, which allows "the ball bounce to be the same at any point of the court where the ball hits the surface. "

For Jose Luis Tejel, who has been director of the Prince Philip Pavilion for 21 years, it is a "pride" to be able to count on a surface of its kind and ensures that the players praise "its outstanding performance in terms of movement and elasticity."

For example, the American guard of CAI Zaragoza, Chad Toppert, states that "this court is better than the one we had last year. He notes a difference when running and changing direction, it has better grip," and adds that "at the end of the workouts he does not feel heavy legs and joints seem to suffer less. "

The person in charge of the facility maintenance, Ismael Cativiela, explains that this "better grip" is due to a significant improvement in the mechanical locking system that prevents the movement of the court plates that could occur during high level training. Also, its response regarding biomechanical aspects is greatly appreciated by athletes, "said Cativiela.

Demetrio Lozano, BM Aragón side Box3, praised the court, which is considered "perfect, both in its material and its hardness and movement." Lozano is also very pleased with the finish on the surface. "It's very professional, the highest level. I can’t ask for a better flooring, "said the player.

In this facility, says the director of the Hall, there alternating the national competitions of the two teams mentioned above, with the handball European competitions, and various other national and international sports events. Furthermore, "the fact that they have allowed a removable court helps maximize the use of the facility and they can host several other events such as concerts, conventions and family shows," concluded Jose Luis Tejel.

The Maintenance

Ismail Cativiela, responsible for maintenance, explains that the care of this surface is similar to the one for previous surfaces. "It takes a daily mopping to remove dust, cleaning using automatic scrubber and degreasing spray designed specifically for the removal of the resin used in handball." Maintenance is performed by the facility personnel.

In this sense, Cativiela emphasizes “the willingness and cooperation of Mondo to improve aspects of handling, maintenance and cleaning of the surface’’.

The parts of this surface are designed for an easy and quick assembly and dismantle of the surface, thereby optimizing the assembly and dismantle time.

The assembly and dismantle are done through the soft sliding between parts. It can be done with a team of six people in approximately four hours.